Dutch Shipwrecks

This article communicates historical archaeological research to assess a nearly intact shipwreck in the Western Black Sea. The archaeological site was discovered and recorded by the Black Sea Maritime Archaeological Project. It lies in 90 m (m) of water on the Bulgarian Continental Shelf and represents the untouched remains of a mid-nineteenth century wooden sailing merchantman, likely to be associated with the historic region of Frisia and the Dutch province of Groningen. The site was subject to non-destructive recording. Comparative analysis has pointed to a relative chronology and a terminus post quem. Archival research was undertaken to outline the history of Dutch commercial sailing on the Western Black Sea, from the late first to the early fourth quarter of the nineteenth century (1820-1877). Archaeological data has been correlated with archival sources in an attempt to home in on a historical parallel of this remarkably preserved and significant underwater archaeological site.

The paper discusses some features of journals and travel accounts. They are, as any record, a repository of meanings, some to be read in the record or inferred from the intertextuality that connects it to other documents. Other meanings have to be deducted from the context of the record's creation and use. Therefore, historicizing the social and cultural practice of archiving and understanding the archival consciousness of society are important.

During the 17th and 18th centuries the Dutch East India Company or Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (henceforth the VOC or the Company) maintained its presence as a power of trade in Asia by establishing footholds and even monopolizing spice markets through its active and successful network of maritime transportation. Unlike its predecessors in the Indies, the VOC was not interested in colonization so much as pure economic gain. It was understood from the inception of the Company in 1602 that making a profit was dependent upon the safe arrival and return of cargo laden ships, the chances of which could be greatly increased by the presence of ship surgeons who worked to keep the crew healthy enough to function. Thus it became Company policy to employ ship surgeons on every outbound and homeward vessel and by the end of its two hundred year presence in Asia close to ten thousand surgeons had served aboard ships heading to the Indies. During the 1970s the Maritime Archaeology Department of the Western Australia Museum conducted full-scale excavations of three VOC ships off the coast of Western Australia. The artifact collections of Batavia (1629), Vergulde Draak (1656) and Zeewijk (1727) yielded archaeological evidence for the presence of surgeons practicing aboard these ships. Ship surgeons were a unique class of medical practitioner whose profession was significantly different at sea than it was on land. These men acted as barber, surgeon, and apothecary to crews commonly exceeding two hundred individuals. They faced diseases that had never before been encountered and commonly found themselves treating the casualties of maritime war in addition to treating the daily dietary imbalances and ailments of a standard early modern life. This thesis will explore the education, career, and status of ship surgeons employed in the VOC and provide an in-depth analysis of the artifacts recovered from Batavia, Vergulde Draak and Zeewijk that are associated with the surgeon's daily practices. As the ships in question date to the rise iii and height of Company power in Asia, they provide an excellent snapshot of the surgeon's profession at the busiest and most dangerous periods in VOC shipping. v To my fellow students of the Nautical Archaeology Program (NAP) specifically Kelby Rose, Veronica Morriss and Lindsey Thomas: you are all shining stars who helped to brighten the sometimes gloomy College Station. I wish you the greatest success and hope to see you again sometime in the not-so-wide-world of maritime archaeology. vi

The Australian and Indonesian Governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2015 to facilitate Australians working collaboratively with the Indonesian Center for Maritime Archaeology (ARKENAS) in Indonesia. In 2017, the Netherlands and Australian Governments signed an MoU “for the purpose of collaboration in research and management of underwater cultural heritage”. Together, these two documents form a contemporary framework for handling discovered shared Australian, Indonesian and Dutch heritage and for universities and other NGOs to work closely with Indonesia and the Netherlands on projects of mutual interest. This paper discusses the 2015–2016 Fortuyn (1724) shipwreck project and the planned survey to locate, document and protect the Duyfken and Eendracht shipwrecks. It provides a short synopsis of the fates of the two Dutch vessels and assesses the potential for finding either shipwreck, and discusses as well a Portuguese cannon recovered from the water off the island of Tidore. The gun was cast by Manoel Tavares Bocarro, probably in Macao, around 1627.

This year marks the quadricentenary of the first confirmed European arrival in Western Australia. On 25 October 1616, Dutch skipper Dirk Hartog and his crew landed at the northern tip of the island now named Dirk Hartog, in Shark Bay. Many have written about Hartog’s ‘accidental’ landfall and the inscribed pewter plate that he erected to mark his landing. This seemingly mundane event on the Western Australian coast earned Hartog a, then unforeseen, prominence in the legacy of seafaring history and in the early European history of Australia. It established him as a notable figure in the Age of Exploration. Today, the historical events and the physical remains of Hartog’s landing in Western Australia are firmly embedded within the context of European activity in the Indian Ocean region and, more specifically, Dutch exploration of the Australian coastline in the 17th century. This article sets out to provide a critical assessment of the life and seafaring activities of the first known European to set foot on Western Australian soil; and the history of Eendracht, the earliest known Dutch ship to explore the Western Australian coast.

This article discusses two inscriptions thought to be associated with wrecks of the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) ships Vergulde Draak and Zuiddorp, off the Western Australian coastline. We evaluate their authenticity using comparative studies with similar contemporaneous Dutch inscriptions, placing them within the broader context of pseudoarchaeology and the public preoccupation surrounding shipwrecks. The morphology and manufacture of the lettering argues against a 17th or 18th century provenance. Further, photographic records of the Zuiddorp site indicate that its associated inscription is modern. We argue these inscriptions were likely attempts by enthusiasts to ‘participate’ in the shipwrecking stories, or to claim some recognition with regards to the wrecks. Whatever the reasons, they have been used as evidence to support unorthodox hypotheses about the shipwrecks’ survivors, and serve to keep these theories alive in the public imagination.